Repository: McCain Library and Archives, The University of Southern Mississippi

Creator: John T. Grantham

Collection Number: M440

Title: Grantham (John T.) Papers

Dates: circa 1952-1973

Quantity: 25 Folders (.25 cu. ft.)

Abstract: This collection consists primarily of materials relating to desegregation in the South (especially Mississippi) and in the Methodist Church following the May 17, 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools are inherently unequal. The materials apparently were collected by Dr. John T. Grantham, and most of them exhibit the segregationists’ perspective.

Historical Sketch

Dr. John T. Grantham was a chiropractor who practiced in Yazoo City, Mississippi between the 1930s and 1950s. He was born on August 1, 1911 and died on December 17, 1989.

Sources

Contents of the collection

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of correspondence, newspapers, newsletters, newspaper clippings and other items related to desegregation in Mississippi. Of particular interest are newspaper clippings featuring next day reactions to the May 17, 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case in which the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools are inherently unequal.

The collection includes charters and resolutions from various Methodist churches in Mississippi denouncing the Church’s decision to accept integration. Also included are pamphlets and a list of suggestions by Pastor G. Stanley Frazer on how and why to resist integration in the Methodist Church.

Pamphlets and leaflets concern topics such as race mixing, communism and the NAACP, and crime rates following desegregation.

The John T. Grantham Papers should be particularly useful to anyone researching desegregation in Mississippi or in the Methodist Church, especially those researching the ideology of the segregationists.

Topics Covered

Segregation
Integration
The Methodist Church and Segregation

Administrative Information

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Donated to McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi by Paul Cartwright on August 23, 2004 and August 17, 2005.

Restrictions Governing Access:

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions Governing Use:

This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Preferred Citation Method:

Item, Title of Collection, McCain Library and Archives, The University of Southern Mississippi.